Volumes rise week-on-week after clearance rates sink to post-pandemic low
A total of 2,371 auctions are scheduled across the combined capitals this week, up 411 from the 1,960 held the previous week, according to data from analytics provider Cotality. Scheduled volumes remain 89 below the 2,460 recorded in the same week a year ago.
Melbourne and Sydney account for the bulk of this week's activity, with 996 and 898 auctions respectively. Brisbane follows with 197, Adelaide with 137, Canberra with 130 and Perth with 13. Tasmania has no auctions scheduled.
Together, Sydney and Melbourne represent 1,894 of the 2,371 scheduled auctions, or 79.9% of national volume. Week-on-week gains are most evident in the two largest cities: Sydney rises from 619 and Melbourne from 918.
Canberra is set to nearly double its volume from 69 to 130. Brisbane and Adelaide are set to ease from 181 and 148 respectively, while Perth dips from 25 to 13.
Next week, volumes are expected to increase further, with 2,730 auctions scheduled across the combined capitals — a rise of 359 from this week.
Weekly clearance rate, combined capital cities 
Source: Cotality
The combined capitals recorded 1,960 auctions last week, down from 2,182 the week prior but above the 1,784 held in the same week of 2025. Declines were concentrated in Melbourne, which fell from 1,065 to 918, and Sydney, which dropped from 724 to 619. Canberra also eased, from 113 to 69. Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth recorded gains.
The combined capitals weighted clearance rate came in at 50.4%, down from 52.4% the previous week and well below the 64.9% recorded in the equivalent week of 2025. This is the lowest final clearance rate of the year and the lowest since the week ending 3 May 2020, during the early stages of the pandemic.
At the city level, Sydney recorded the sharpest decline, falling to 43.1% from 51.0%. Perth eased to 40% from 45.5%, Brisbane to 49.7% from 54.5%, Adelaide to 62.8% from 65.4%, and Canberra to 42.0% from 48.7%. Melbourne was the only capital to improve, rising to 54.4% from 52.2%.
"A 50.4% clearance rate is fundamentally a mismatch between vendor and buyer pricing expectations," said Annabelle Mezieres, economist at Cotality. "Vendors are still listing, with total volumes running 9.9% above the same week of 2025.
"Buyers, by contrast, are pulling back: roughly half the auction stock in the two largest capitals is failing to sell, suggesting households aren't willing to meet vendor price expectations at current levels."
Consumer sentiment remains well below long-run averages. The May update from Westpac and the Melbourne Institute showed a sharp fall in consumer confidence, with the time-to-buy-a-dwelling sub-index declining to an 18-month low.
Broader macroeconomic pressures are also weighing on the market. The cash rate stands at 4.35% and inflation at 4.6%, while proposed changes to negative gearing and the capital gains tax discount in the 2026–27 federal budget continue to bear on investor sentiment.
"With mortgaged households carrying the lowest confidence of any cohort and homebuyer sentiment at 18-month lows, the read-through to the auction market is direct: buyers are sitting on their hands, vendors haven't yet recalibrated, and clearance rates are wearing the gap," Mezieres said.
"Historically, sentiment shifts don't reflect in dwelling values immediately, but clearance rates holding in the low 50% range across the largest two capitals is likely to signal further downward price movement."
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